Petraeus salutes Canada, troops for Afghanistan sacrifice

WELESWALL PANJWAII, Afghanistan — NATO’s top commander in Afghanistan thanked Canadian taxpayers and praised Canadian combat troops Monday for having “sacrificed greatly” to “dramatically improve” Kandahar since arriving to fight the Taliban in 2006.

“The achievements of the past year have been particularly impressive,” Gen. David Petraeus said during a three-hour visit with a large group of Canadian, American and Afghan troops and civilians at a small district centre in Canada’s battle space to the west of Kandahar City.

“What has been achieved is that a place that used to be (Taliban leader) Mullah Omar’s hometown and used to be a Taliban stronghold is now a stronghold of Afghan security forces with Afghan governance … Canada has contributed significantly to all of this.”

It may have been Petraeus’s last visit with Canadian troops, who are to end combat operations in a few weeks. Petraeus is also leaving Afghanistan. He is President Barack Obama’s nominee to become director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

The four-star general emphasized that even as Canada’s combat forces heed a decision by the House of Commons and withdraw from Kandahar, its troops would continue to play a vital role by coaching Afghan security forces.

“Canada is not leaving Afghanistan. It is changing its focus,” Petraeus said. “It is changing its mission from one of carrying out combat operations,
manoeuvre operations, in the south to contributing in a very significant way to the training mission largely centred in Kabul.”

Some in NATO circles have expressed disappointment that Canada decided to put its 950 trainers in the north rather than keeping them in Kandahar where there are also training centres. It is a view also expressed privately by some Canadian troops, but not shared by Petraeus.

“It is appropriate that it (Canada) is centred on Kabul,” the leader of the International Security Assistance Force said. “That is where the largest of the
institutions are, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Defence, a number of branch schools, basic recruit training centres, advance skills centres, the military academy, the police academy.”

What Canada has chosen to do, Petraeus said, was “indeed the way forward,” if NATO was to be able to hand over combat responsibilities to Afghan forces by 2014.

“The key to us being able to transition is the development of the Afghan police, the Afghan soldiers and the local security forces,” he said.

As well as Panjwaii, Canada remains responsible for neighbouring Dand District, which was cleared by Canadian, Afghan and American troops about two years ago. A U.S. army battalion there remains under the command of Canadian Brig.-Gen. Dean Milner.

“It is an area with good governance, (and) basic services have improved thanks again to Canadian taxpayers in many respects,” Petraeus said.

Before an Afghan feast of rice, lamb and chicken, Panjwaii’s district governor, Haji Fazluddin Agha, delivered a fiery speech in which he dared
Taliban leader Mullah Omar to fight.

“I can tell Mullah Omar, if there is anyone here who wants to fight us, bring it on,” the former mujahedeen fighter shouted. “Before, 95 per cent of
the people here were friends of the Taliban. Now, 95 per cent of them support the government. Those insurgents who want to create problems for the people of Panjwaii cannot come back.”

The visit to a base in Panjwaii where a small number of Canadian troops are partnered with Afghan army and police was hosted by Milner and U.S. Army Maj.-Gen. James Terry of NATO’s Regional Command South.

Milner outlined for Petraeus progress that had been made recently in building new roads, including one through a former Taliban stronghold in the
Horn of Panjwaii. In response to strong local demand, a large number of schools had also opened in Panjwaii this year, the Canadian “one leaf” general said.

“Frankly, the achievements here have been more rapid than I think anyone would have dared to predict” last fall, Petraeus said.

However, the general warned that “the Taliban will try to come back. This is Mullah Omar’s hometown. They do have to try to regain what they have lost because it matters greatly to them. This is the doorstep of Kandahar, the second largest city in Afghanistan and the area from which the Taliban movement emanated when it started.”